Your Authentic Artic Experience

As the bus pulled into launch this morning the sun was just peaking above the scrub of the tundra, painting the sky with an orangey-pink glow. A couple of purple clouds were all that marred the sky. I knew today would be a day I would bring out my own camera.

A clear Churchill morning

Over the years I have become picky; with thousands of shots of polar bears I often prefer to leave my camera in the bag and just observe bear behaviour. It takes something pretty special to get me to grab my lenses: a nursing mother, sparring males or a spectacular – and rare – sunny day.

The Tundra Buggy® rounded the corner onto the coastal trail and we saw a group of four males. It looked like they had been sparring in loose groups early in the morning, and now that the sun was warming them beyond their comfort, they were lounging in the scrub along the trail.

We busied ourselves taking photos of the sleeping giants, edged in a halo of sunlight, when a young female appeared out of nowhere, just up from the shore and upwind of the males. As she crested the trail, intending to descend the other side, she suddenly caught wind of the males and made a beeline for the willows.

Timid female investigating the area

Crashing through enemy lines in a big hurry, one of the larger males got up and half-heartedly followed her for a few steps before he apparently decided it was just too much effort. Our buggy driver, providing dialogue for the big fella, growled under his breath, “Don’t make me chase ya, darlin’,” bringing laughter to those of us close enough to hear him.

Later, after a full day of adventure – and with me taking more photos than in 5 years combined – we were headed back to the launch when the driver spotted a group of ptarmigan; we’d given up seeing any at all. He stopped the engine and pointed them out. At first no one saw them, but then, as people let their eyes relax, the shapes of the white birds were visible moving through the willow bluff, their feathers stained pink by the setting sun. Again, I took out my camera and clicked a few last images.

The perfect end to a perfect day.

- Angele Watrin Prodaehl, Interpretive Guide for Frontiers North Adventures

Mama and Baby Beluga.
By Frontiers North Adventures  |  View on Facebook

I’m not going to lie – my first couple of hours in Churchill had me questioning if it was really worth all the hype. All I had heard from acquaintances and friends about this little northern town was that it would change my life, that I would fall in love with the town and its residents, that it was a little piece of heaven on earth.

On the day I arrived in Churchill, the sky was grey and spitting rain, and the mosquitoes threatened to drain every last ounce of blood that I had. In my mind, I wasn’t so sure Churchill was all it was cracked up to be.

I can admit now that I was wrong: I’m in love with Churchill and always will be.

I recently was given the chance to join Frontiers North Adventures first Belugas, Bears and Blooms tour of the season. With a small group of travelers, I experienced what there is to love about Churchill in the summer.

Our tour was guided by Doug Ross, a friendly and knowledgeable guide whose main goal during the trip was to ensure that we a) had a great experience and b) saw as much wildlife as possible. Thanks to our small group size (nine in total) we were able to hop in the van at a moments notice to explore the area and search for bears and other arctic wildlife.

These excursions became my favourite part of the trip. Doug would drive us all over Churchill and stop every time someone yelled, “BEAR!” More often than not, it was merely a white rock in the distance, but it made the hunt even more fun, and by the end of the trip we’d all become expert bear (and rock) spotters.

One of the most amazing experiences of the tour was the zodiac and boat tour with Sea North Tours. The Churchill River is home to over 3,000 beluga whales in July and August, and I feel like I saw at least half of that. Constant streams of whales would surround our vessel to watch us humans as we each clicked hundreds of photos. These creatures are so curious and magical; it’s an amazing sight to see.

The culture and history of Churchill is incredible. During our tour we visited Cape Merry Battery, Fort Prince of Wales, the Eskimo Museum, the Churchill Parks Canada office for a cultural presentation and film, and even our driver Paul’s house to see his (extensive) collection of 30,000-year-old fossils.

This is something that stands out for me about Churchill’s locals – they enjoy having tourists visit and learn about their town. They want to teach people about the land, the town and the wildlife that surrounds it. There are many tourist areas where locals don’t enjoy the constant influx of visitors – Churchill thrives on it. The people of Churchill welcome tourists and encourage people to visit, learn and return one day.

Also incredible – the food! Although there are few restaurants in Churchill, the food leaves nothing to be desired. We ate at the Seaport, the Tundra Inn and Gypsy’s while in Churchill – all meals were delicious and the service was great. The menus weren’t your typical diner selections, but included regional cuisine such as bison burgers, arctic char and other local favourites. If I could, I’d go back for the food alone!

I’ll wrap this up with a final thought, because I know that I could keep on writing about all the wonderful things I experienced while visiting Churchill. Our search for the elusive summer polar bear was… successful!

Our final day in Churchill was spent on a full-day Tundra Buggy adventure in the Churchill wildlife management area. Our buggy driver Craig was enthusiastic and was quick to point out wildlife and plant life as we made our way to our destination, Gordon Point, where a huge bear was reportedly seen the day before. At several points during the drive shouts of “BEAR!” rung through the buggy, and Craig would stop so we could all train our binoculars on the landscape to see what could be a bear – or a huge white rock – it’s hard to tell sometimes.

Finally, as we pulled up closer to Gordon Point a huge white rock in the distance moved. BEAR!

We approached slowly to avoid scaring the bear away, but it was soon apparent that we were merely interrupting his afternoon nap and he really had no interest in getting up to move elsewhere.

And so we spent our last afternoon in Churchill on the coast of Hudson’s Bay, enjoying a delicious picnic lunch, hanging out with a huge polar bear, and enjoying the sunny summer weather.

I can honestly say it doesn’t get much better than that.

Written by: Brandi Hayberg